Thread insertion in nipper looms



Aug. 15, 1944. A. MOESSINGER 2,

THREAD INSERTIONS IN NIPPER LOOMS Filed March 7, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 13% 'NvNToR 3,4/ 4 141554? Msso'nvyoe, l BY 6! r ATTORNEY 1944- A.MOESSINGER r 2,355,741

' THREAD INSERTIQNS IN NIPPER LOOMS Filed March 7 1941 2 Sheets-Shet 2 fTJIZTB. I

TRAVEL i ATTORN Patented Aug. 15, 1944 THREAD INSERTION IN NII'PER LOOMSAlbert Moessinger, Wlntertliur, Switzerland, as-

signor to Sulser Freres, Soclete Anonyme,

Winterthur, Switsrland Application March 7, 1941, Serial No. 382,111

In Switzerland April 8,1940 Claims. (011139-122) The present inventionrelates to the construction of weft-thread grippers and gripper openingmeans in looms for weaving. m,

Positively-driven iilfihread insertion means in looms for weaving havemany great advantages in comparison with flying shuttles. They have,however, some drawbacks which become particularly apparent when a nipperhead draws the weft thread through the shed by means of a rigid orflexible weft needle.

When a thread is brought from one end of the shed to the other by meansof such a needle, the needle must be completely withdrawn from the shedbefore this thread is beaten up, i. e., for each working stroke it isnecessary to make also an idle stroke, a procedure which entails loss oftime and a reduction in the capacity of the 100m.

In order to overcome this disadvantage, mechanisms have been proposedinwhich a weft needle projects into the shed simultaneously from bothsides of the loom. One of these needles takes the thread to the middleof the shed, and the other brings this thread from the middle of theshed to the other side of the fabric. In this way no time is lost inmaking an idle stroke, since the thread is moved by the other needlewhen the first needle is making an idle stroke.

This, however, makes it necessary to transfer the thread very quicklyfrom one weft needle to the other in the middle of the shed.

The invention relates positively-driven thread insertion means in whichthe thread transfer is considerably facilitated. The needles projectinginto the shed from the two sides of the loom, do not come simultaneouslyinto their innermost positions in the shed; they grip at a positionsomewhat beyond the middle of the shed. In this way it is possible tocontrol each weft needle by means of stationarysprea'der devices fixedon the slay.

By means of such a weft needle arrangement it is also rendered possibleto lead the weft thread into the fabric from the left side and rightside alternately; this is of advantage for forming a selvage at bothsides of the fabric.

Inthe drawings:

Fig, 1 is a diagrammatic, isometric showing of weft-thread grippers andgripper opening means according to the invention. I

Fig. 21s a diagrammatic showing of the weftthread grippers and gripperopening means shown in Fig. 1 in position just before a weftthread' istransferred from one gripper to the other. g t

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic showing of the weftthread guides i0 and w istransferred froin one gripper to the other and temporarily held by bothgrippers.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic showing of the weftthread grippers and gripperopening means shown in Fig. 1 in position just after a weftthread hasbeen transferred from one gripper to the other. I

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of modified weft-thread grippersaccording to the invention in position Just before a weft-thread istransferred from one gripper to the other gripper.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 5taken along line VI-VI of said figure and looking in the direction ofthe arrows.

Fig. 7 is a top view of a portion of one pair of grippers shown in Fig.5, the grippers being in open position.

Fig. 8 is a top view as per Fig. 7 with the grippers closed.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the movements of grippers according tothe invention and indicating the relative positions at the period whenthe weft thread is transferred from one gripper to the other.

Fig. 10 is a diagram as per Fig. 9 illustrating a modified movement ofthe gripper needles.

Fig. 11 is a large scale showing of part of the motion diagrams as perFigs. 9 and 10.

Fig. 1 shows a part of a nipper loom which has stationary weft bobbinsand in which the weft needles travel from both sides of the loom towardthe center thereof. The weft needles I and 2 are each fitted with twospring clips l2, l3 and i4, i5, respectively, which are fixed at 16 tothe nipper bar I0 and at I6 to the nipper bar II respectively. As shownin Fig. 4, nipper bars or are connected to the nipper clips by mea ofrivets. The weft thread ill is held either by gripper elements I'l orbyelements I8. The clips l2, I3 and l4, 15

the clip It is closed and holds the weft thread firmly. Onthe other handthe clip I1 is opened by the spreader device II, which is fixed on theother.

slay ii, and it passes, astride, beyond the closed gripper elements II.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the mechanism according to the invention withthe moving elements in the position shown in Fig. 1. Both clippingelements I! and I! are closed at this moment.

Fig. 4 shows how the grippers I8 are opened by the spreader device 22fixed on the slay II; the grippers I8, astride, have already passedbeyond the grippers II which are closed and carry the weft thread 20.

Figs. 5, 8, 'l and 8 show a modified weft needle construction, wherebythe weft thread 3G is transferred from needle 33 to needle 34. Incontrast to the'embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1-4, thethread is taken over by needle M from above needle 33. For this purposethe thread is bent round a guide 35 and conducted perpendicularly to thedirection of motion of the grippers. When the needle 33 reaches themiddle of the shed, the weft thread 30 between the guide 35 and thegrippers 33' is taken over by the needle 34 by means of its grippers 36.

In order to assure that the weft thread is firmly held in the grippers,a hook or transverse member Stand 40 respectively extending transverselyto the gripping faces of said grippers is provided on one of each pairof gripper members 33 and .34. Figs. '7 and 8 show grippers 34' and hookI! in open and closed positions The well; thread 30 is taken hold ofbehind the hook 40 whereby grippers 34' are in the position shown indash and dotted line in Fig. 5. When the two needles move away from eachother, the weft thread 80 is bent over the hook 40, so that it cannotslip out of clip 34' because of its tension. The needle 34 leads thethread to the other side of the fabric. The needle 34 has a guide 31which is utilized when the weft thread 30 is inserted by the needle 34up to the middle of the shed and taken to the other side of the fabricby needle 83.

Fig. 6 shows a section on the line V'IVI oi Fig. 5, i. e., across-section perpendicular to the plane of the fabric. The guide 35 isconnected to the needle 33 and bends the weft thread 30 at a. rightangle to the direction of motion of the needle 83 in the vicinity ofgrippers 33'. Grippers 83 are closed whilst grippers 34' of the needle38 are open. The guide or transverse member may be fixed either on theupper or the lower surface of the gripper elements.

The operation of the mechanism according to the invention, whentransferring the thread, is illustrated by means of diagrams in Figs.9-11.

In the stroke-time diagram (Fig. 9), curve I represents the motion ofthe weft needle working from one side of the loom. and curve 2represents the motion of 'theweft needle working from the other side ofthe loom, the arrows I and 2' giving the direction of motion of the weftneedles. Line S indicates the center of the shed. When the weft needlesat the moment carrying out the motion are at their innermost position inthe shed as at or 8, i. e., the point where the direction of motionchanges. the clipping parts of the needle extend beyond each The twoneedles arrive at their innermost positions (points 5 and 8respectively) with a certain time lag T. During the time lag T thegripper elements of the two needles extend beyond each other.

Fig. diagrammatically illustrates a modified operation whereby themotions are such that the needle moving according to curve I arrives aiaof needle 2 (Fig. 4).

temately first and last at the middle of the shed. When the needlemoving according to curve 2 arrives at the middle of the shed, theneedle moving according to curve I will already be back from itsinnermost position, i. e., will have already passed through a certaindistance of its return motion. The weft thread is then brought into themiddle of the shed by needle 2 and drawn from the middle of the shed tothe other side of the fabric by needle I. On the other hand, at the nextinsertion, the weft thread 30 is led by the needle I to the middle of.the shed and then taken from the middle of the shed to the other sideoi the fabric by needle 2.

In Fig. 11 the overlapping of the motion of the two needles in thestroke-time diagram is shown in a larger scale. Before the weft needlesreach their innermost positions (i. e., the points 5 and B respectively,where the direction of motion changes) the needle grippers are opened byone of the spreader devices H or 22 fixed on the slay 3|. The timesduring which the spreader devices and the needle grippers are in contactwith each other is represented by the shaded areas 3.

Up to point 4- the two needles approach each other with the grippersclosed. From point 4 to point 5- the grippers of the weft needle I areopen. At point I! or near it, the grippers of weft needle ,2 havealready passed through between the opened grippers of weft needle I(Fig. 2). At point 8 the grippers of needle 2 are already beyond thegrippers of needle I; needle I will then close and firmly hold the weftthread 30 carried by the grippers of the needle 2 (Fig. 3). From point Ionwards, the grippers of needle 2 will open and therefore release theweft thread from needle 2. At point B the grippers of needle 2 'areopened so wide that the closed grippers of needle I can pass through theopened grippers From point 9 onwards the grippers of needles I and 2 areagain closed, and the needles move apart. By this operation the weftthread brought by weft needle 2 up to the middle of the shed istransferred from needle 2 to needle I and taken by needle I from themiddle of the shed to the other side of the fabric.

The needle that comes last into the middle of the shed brings the threadto the middle of the shed. The needle that comes first and withoutthread into the middle of the shed takes hold of the thread in themiddle of the shed and draws it to the other end of the shed. It cantherefore be seen that in Fig. 9 the thread is brought by .the needlemoving as per curve 2 into the middle of the shed. Curve 2 consequentlypertains to a machine with a weft bobbin on only one side of the loom.Insertion is always made from the same side. In a loom operatingaccording to Fig. 10 the weft thread is inserted alternately from bothends of the shed.

I claim:

1. In a loom for weaving having a slay and needles reciprocatinglymoving from each side of the loom toward and from substantially thecenter of the loom. one needle carrying a weft thread towardsubstantially the center of the loom and the other needle carrying it tothe other side of the loom, grippers provided at one end of each needle,and gripper opening means connected with said slay in the neighborhoodof the center thereof and adapted to slidingly engage and to open thegrippers of one of said needles before they meet the grippers of theother needle substantially in. the middle of the loom.

2. In\a loom for weaving as set forth in claim 1, said grippers havingthread gripplns faces and being arranged in cooperating pairs, and atransverse member connected with one gripper of each of said pairs andextending transversely with respect to said faces and being adapted toprevent slipping of the weft thread grippedbetween said faces fromsaidgrippers.

3. In a loom for weaving having a slay and needles reciprocatinglymoving from each side of the loom toward and from substantially thecenter thereof, one needle carrying a weft thread toward substantiallythe center of the loom and the other needle carrying it to the otherside of the loom, grippers provided at oneend of each needle, gripperopening means connected with said slay in the neighborhood of the centerthereof and adapted to slidingly engage and to open the grippers of oneof said needles before they meet the grippers of the other needlesubstantially in the middle of the loom, and weft thread guide meansconnected with said needles and being adapted to hold the weft threadgripped by the grippers of one needle in a posiv stantially in themiddleof the loom, and weft thread guide means connected with said needlesandbeing adapted to hold the weft thread gripped by the grippers of oneneedle in a position substantially at right angles to" the direction ofmovement of the grippers and in the immediate neighborhood thereof andcoinciding with the position of the grippers of the other needle at thetime the thread is gripped by the grippers of the other needle.

5. In a loom for weaving having a slay and needles reciprocatinglymoving from one side of the loom toward and from substantially thecenter thereof, one needle carrying a weft thread totion coinciding withthe position of the grippers of the other needle at the time the threadis gripped by the grippers of the other needle.

4. In a loom for weaving having a slay and needles reciprocatinglymoving from each side of the loom toward and from substantially the wardsubstantially the center of the loom and the other needle carrying it tothe other side of the thereof and coinciding with the position of thecenter thereof, one needle carrying a weft thread theymeet the grippersof the other needle subgrippers of the other needle at the time thethread is gripped by the grippers of the other needle, said grippershaving thread gripping faces and being arranged in cooperating pairs,and a transverse member connected with the end of one gripper of each ofsaid pairs and extending transversely with respect to said faces andbeing adapted to prevent slipping of the weft thread gripped betweensaid faces from said grippers.

ALBERT MOESSINGER.

